tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post2528649686228370428..comments2019-05-25T22:35:18.515+10:00Comments on The Book Chook: There is More to Life than Good Grades - Guest PostBookChookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06230711251425187241noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-20653320258700579872010-11-08T18:30:59.000+11:002010-11-08T18:30:59.000+11:00wala dito ang hinahanap ko :&#39;(wala dito ang hinahanap ko :&#39;(jonelparreno@yahoo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-78651030213109537542010-10-14T08:12:43.000+11:002010-10-14T08:12:43.000+11:00I hear you Ami! I also taught in the Sate school s...I hear you Ami! I also taught in the Sate school system for years and you will never hear me teacher bashing. I just wish the wonderful, caring and hard-working teachers were allowed to do what they do best: inspire and bring out the best in kids. <br /><br />Our society doesn&#39;t function this way, but wouldn&#39;t it be great if we could have a combination of homeschooling and mentorships/apprenticeships where kids could find &quot;experts&quot; to increase their knowledge and skills?Book Chooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-23604835550575411242010-10-14T06:48:49.000+11:002010-10-14T06:48:49.000+11:00A great passion and goal for your children and chi...A great passion and goal for your children and children everywhere.ktenkelynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-33452358796307045052010-10-14T03:21:32.000+11:002010-10-14T03:21:32.000+11:00Bravo! I taught in public school (in the US) for m...Bravo! I taught in public school (in the US) for many years, and my husband is on the local school board, and you know what? I home schooled my own kids until recently. Teachers know all of this, but they are hammered by administration and politicians. You might enjoy the book &quot;Confessions of a Slacker Mom&quot; by Muffy Mead-Ferro. I love what she has to say about big families, and about what kids really need to learn (Which is more useful - that your son is the first in his class to write his own name, or that he is the first in his class to make his own sandwich?)Aminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-44836122162225054982010-10-13T21:49:33.000+11:002010-10-13T21:49:33.000+11:00&#39;teaching to the test&#39; - how that phrase m...&#39;teaching to the test&#39; - how that phrase makes me shudder. I think the MySchool website has more schools doing that now unfortunately.<br /><br />I worry about the push for children to qualify for the local selective high school. I have seen advertisements for a local tutoring service that boasts a 98% success rate in tutoring students for the selective school entrance test. To my mind, if you need to be tutored to pass the entrance test, you probably shouldn&#39;t be at the school facing six years of high pressure academic study.Susan Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-89141752203444638542010-10-13T20:57:41.000+11:002010-10-13T20:57:41.000+11:00What a wonderful discussion! Thanks to everyone fo...What a wonderful discussion! Thanks to everyone for making these important points, and particular thanks to Susan for sharing her thoughts and philosophy with us. I think Dawn is right - these are the sorts of discussions schools should be hearing. Or maybe that should be politicians???Book Chooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-25457586942307856062010-10-13T20:53:38.000+11:002010-10-13T20:53:38.000+11:00Sarah, my own belief is that that sort of pressure...Sarah, my own belief is that that sort of pressure, the push and push, is linked to high suicide rates. Is that what we want for our kids? Of course not, yet that is the risk, i believe. <br /><br />Some kids are so structured and surrounded by school and after school activities, they don&#39;t have time to play. And by play, I mean mess about, imagine, pretend, build, climb, giggle and frolic. I would so much rather my children grow up to be happy, resilient, confident, creative and thoughtful than academic success stories. <br /><br />You are right on target: the whole child, and catering to all aspects of the child. Wouldn&#39;t that be great!Book Chooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-48099609646392632832010-10-13T19:24:04.000+11:002010-10-13T19:24:04.000+11:00I agree with you Susan. My son is starting school ...I agree with you Susan. My son is starting school next year, and although he&#39;ll be young for his class, I am sending him because he needs the extra mental stimulation and I think he&#39;s ready socially and emotionally too. I have chosen a school other than the local public school because the local school is very exam and results-focussed and this doesn&#39;t fit in with our family philosophy. <br /><br />The school teaches specifically to the Naplan test and streams classes from Year 2, and makes no bones about it. Kids have to stay in at lunchtime (from kindergarten!) if work is not finished and there is plenty of homework. I have heard it spoken of in glowing terms by other parents for providing the kind of academic rigour you &quot;only usually get in private/selective schools.&quot; They pride themselves on having a large percentage of the kids go on to a selective high school, and, as one parent put it, &quot;they push and push the kids till they get results.&quot;<br /><br />I would prefer a school that is able to see the whole child and foster each child&#39;s potential to its fullest, giving them a well-rounded education in social, emotional, physical and academic spheres.Sarah (Maya_Abeille)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-77759936067055185842010-10-13T18:06:51.000+11:002010-10-13T18:06:51.000+11:00Thanks for your comment Penni. My circle of friend...Thanks for your comment Penni. My circle of friends at school were those achieving the top marks and I can definitely testify that they weren&#39;t necessarily the happiest, most confident individuals. One friend received a scholarship to study information science at university. She stepped into a high paying job straight after then 2 years later, left it all, spent time working at a summer camp in the US then returned to Australia to study primary school teaching, which she has loved. Some would argue that she was more &#39;successful&#39; with the first job (she was certainly earning more), but I know she is far happier with the second.Susan Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-82235344242685678392010-10-13T18:02:48.000+11:002010-10-13T18:02:48.000+11:00Thanks for your comment, Dawn. I&#39;ll have to se...Thanks for your comment, Dawn. I&#39;ll have to see if Race to Nowhere is screening in Australia. Sounds like something I would enjoy watching. <br /><br />I am currently writing a book on children&#39;s creativity and had a comment from one mother that &quot;my children aren&#39;t ever going to be artists, so it is more important for them to learn how to follow a procedure and complete a craft project than it is for them to just play and be creative&quot;. Makes me want to cry. <br /><br />Why does everything have to be so competitive and when did we start believing that we should only focus on the things that we will excel in. Surely spending time doing something we simply enjoy has value as well.Susan Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-56543873807103088742010-10-13T17:57:43.000+11:002010-10-13T17:57:43.000+11:00We should have a long chat about NAPLAN and accele...We should have a long chat about NAPLAN and acceleration. I sympathise with the struggle to try to work out what the best option is in advance. Mother guilt is sure to kick in either way. <br /><br />Glad I could add some food for thought to your debate. ;)Susan Whelannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-88624123655544365702010-10-13T12:57:17.000+11:002010-10-13T12:57:17.000+11:00I agree. I teach at one of the most recognised uni...I agree. I teach at one of the most recognised universities in Australia, but have attended several unis - a small regional one, a more modern capital city one, old ones, new ones and Tafe (at the time, for my vote, my Tafe experience was the best). Most of the students I teach went to prestigious private schools. But the quality of their education leading up to university doesn&#39;t necessarily make them smarter, happier, more confident, more capable. <br /><br />I want my children to be intelligent, reflective, compassionate...and happy of course. But although I have always valued academia and have always been passionate about learning, I don&#39;t necessarily see that the path to happiness or success is a top percentile VCE score (Melina Marchetta never got her HSC!). There&#39;s nothing like talking to people in publishing (an industry filled with passionate people who love their jobs) to see that there are many ways to enter the industry and find your dream job. I wouldn&#39;t rule out private schools (if we got a scholarship) or a selective public high but only if it had distinctive or interesting programmes that particularly suited my kids, or if there was something seriously ill-fitting about our the culture of our local public high.penninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-44341705855297576662010-10-13T12:43:09.000+11:002010-10-13T12:43:09.000+11:00What a great post! I absolutely believe in child d...What a great post! I absolutely believe in child directed, and even selected, learning. Unfortunately, so many teens are pressured to fill their schedules with endless activities and AP classes which have nothing to do with their interests. They just want to look good for colleges. Many end up stressed, and burned out before they leave high school. There&#39;s a movie out now, called Race to Nowhere, which is about this very topic.<br /><br />Thank you so much for sharing this post because it really is something that many parents and guidance counselors need to hear, loud and clear. We all want the best for our children, but we sometimes forget that &quot;success&quot; should not have to come at the expense of happiness.Dawn Morrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7479239670177159866.post-30221970460178967412010-10-13T12:00:34.000+11:002010-10-13T12:00:34.000+11:00What an interesting and well-written post! Also ve...What an interesting and well-written post! Also very pertinent as I ponder NAPLAN results and decisions re whether to accelerate my daughter next year... was thinking no, andf you&#39;ve helped me feel better about that!Kylie Lnoreply@blogger.com